using mpath to refer to a <use>

The SVG 1.1 spec seems to allow <mpath> to refer only to a <path>.  Why not
allow it (in say SVG2) to refer to a <use> which in turn references a
<path>? Then one could benefit from a transform applied to the path as the
inspiration for animation.

 

The example at 

http://granite.sru.edu/~ddailey/svg/animstart0c.svg shows what I'm trying to
do.

 

In most browsers, nothing happens, but Opera 11.51 apparently thinks it is
worth trying to follow the evil plan, since it crashes after the animation
is started.

 

Note: at least for this example I can work around it by simply translating
the ellipse downward as in

http://granite.sru.edu/~ddailey/svg/animoval9.svg  (see caveats [1]).

 

But I rather doubt this chicanery will be successful if I wished to rotate
or shrink a path, and then to merely do the same to the ellipse.

 

Cheers

David

 

[1] This works the way I would expect in Opera, IE/ASV,  Chrome and Safari,
but FF seems to send the ellipses on rather strange paths. FF also seems to
disagree with me concerning
http://granite.sru.edu/~ddailey/svg/animoval8b.svg in which an ellipse is
asked to traverse a path which is, in fact, itself animated.)